Forty five tender souls in one blow. Anyone with a feeling heart is still reeling. Every detail of the story told over still brings tears.
The headlines of most of the articles which are written to inspire, go to the tune of “What Does G-d Ask From You”, a play on the verse, (excuse the expression), in Devarim (Deuteronomy) (10, 12) where “What”, Mah, mem heh, has the numerical value 45. 45 souls that perished in one happening, especially when it happened and where it happened, is an expression of the arousal of Midat Hadin (the Heavenly attribute of strict judgement) which relates to the entire Jewish people.
These 45 souls that were taken away are like a Korban Tzibur, a sacrifice offered up for the whole people.
We don’t understand the ways of Heaven, given that G-d loves us much stronger and much deeper than any love that we can experience here in this world, how this fits in to the whole picture. We will ultimately understand this clearly when the whole story is played out. Just we must not let this shake our core beliefs.
But, yes, G-d is speaking to us. Speaking to me, Speaking to you. I will let others greater than me say that we have to work on this or on that. But one thing that I can tell you, we certainly have to work on something.
I was present at the funeral of four of the six martyrs that were murdered in cold blood in the massacre in Har Nof a number of years ago. Rabbi Yitzchak Mordechai Rubin, the Rav of the shul where the slaughter occurred, said that such a happening demands a cheshbon hanefesh (a soul-felt reckoning) on the part of each and every one of us. He said that he’s not going to say do this or do that. Every person knows what he has to work on, what he has to improve. Each person should take it upon himself to improve in those areas that he/she is weak.
I add, that we are not talking about saying an extra chapter of Tehillim (Psalms) each day, or being careful to give a dime into the charity box before praying. I don’t mean to belittle such actions, saying Tehillim even one chapter and giving tzedaka (charity) even a dime is very important and meritorious.
But everyone knows deep in his heart, deep in his soul, even me and even you, that there is an area which is very major, and very difficult, (each person according to his individual makeup), that he/she is very weak in and needs to be greatly improved. Maybe this is the very area that he was sent to this world in order to rectify. This is what I am trying, bl”n, to improve in, and this is what I would recommend for others as well. To take a firm hold of oneself and sincerely change for the better.
My hope and my prayer is that we should merit to find the inner strength to make a real change for the good, thus arousing upon ourselves the Heavenly attribute of Chesed and Rachamim (kindness and mercy) in a revealed way, which will spill over to the entire Jewish people, to bring life, good health and sustenance and all good things for ourselves and for the whole world.
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